1. Describe the stasis in the play: where, when, who, what, etc. in a paragraph.
Unlike all the other plays we have read, this is the first to go intensely in depth about the look and staging of the play. The playwright's vision of how the set is presented and arranged. It starts out with a couple, Amir and Emily, who live in rather nice New York apartment. Emily is painting Amir, who is a bit uncomfortable.
2. What is the intrusion?
The intrusion, in my opinion, is when Amir explains to Abe his backstory of his mom not allowing him to date a Jewish girl and him spitting in her face. This is the moment that we get a better idea of Amir’s viewpoints and how they've come to be.
3. What is the unique factor?
Something that stands out, and is essentially what Amir faces in terms of himself (Me Against Myself) is the fact that he is not getting equal treatment at his job because of his Muslim background. For years he has been trying to cover it up, even to the extent of changing his name. Now, everything, all in one day, comes back and hits him with cruel reality.
4. What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play?
What will happen to the relationship between Amir and Emily? Is there a possibility Amir could get fired from his job?
5. Provide an illustration of the two kinds of exposition that the play has in it.
information known to all or most of the characters: Abe’s name change, the class status of Emily and Amir, the drastically different jobs of Emily and Amir
Information known only to one character: Amir’s attitudes towards Islam in the beginning are to just push them aside (something not everyone knows because he has been trying to cover up his opinions for so long), the affair (only revealed later), Isaac says Amir is an alcoholic (even though Emily denies it, it is a good suggest to a possible truth only later revealed)
6. Identify the most theatrical moment in the play and of what importance it seems to be.
When Amir reacts to Emily saying she cheated on him. Everything has been going down hill all day for Amir and he finally snaps by slapping Emily so many times she falls and starts to bleed. Several things have been revealed in only a few lines: Jory is taking the position Amir wanted, Issac and Emily had an affair, helping Abe cost Amir the job, and Mort is retiring. There's also a lot of political and ideological arguments being thrown back and forth, only further dividing them. Them being drunk doesn't help either. Something was bound to happen.
7. List some of the themes of the play.
Discrimination (especially when it comes to discrimination in the workplace)
Freedom of Speech: Amir has the right, as a citizen of the United States, to go to the court Abe wants him to go to. However, even though he shouldn’t be in the wrong, his still has to deal with consequences through his work. In a recent Supreme Court case, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch, the US established that discrimination in the workplace by not being allowed to wear a hijab was not allowed (2015). However, just because this is de jure (by law) does not mean it is de facto (by fact). When the Jim Crow laws and Black Codes at polling booths were outlawed, that didn’t mean things were fixed. It still went on and white people found loopholes to the system. I think this is what the playwright is trying to express: there’s still discrimination and it can be negatively life changing to a person and their family.
Xenophobia and Islamophobia: the irrational distrust of those who come from another country and the prejudice against Islam and/or Muslims
8. What does the chief character want and what are some obstacles that stand in the way of his getting what he wants?
The chief character, Amir, wants nothing more than to just do his job and avoid any possibilities of inequality that he could very easily face if he does not work hard enough to cover things up and repress his opinions and emotions. Another obstacle is his relationship and facing himself in several different aspects. His emotions do change throughout the play. For example, after separating, Amir tells Emily that he wants her back. Of course, at this point, he must deal with his actions.
9. Describe some possible images in the play and how does the title help us understand the play.
The painting and the socioeconomic status through which their apartment places them are possibly the most obvious images. Some other images could be what Abe wears (skull cap), the idea of a name on a birth certificate and the meaning it holds behind it. All of these images represent a deeper meaning found within the text and its themes.
10. Briefly define the family relationships that are examined in the play.
Sort of like Who Cried Virginia Woolf, there's two central couples, an affair, and the play only setting being in an apartment. In Disgraced, their are obvious tensions in Emily and Amir’s marriage, which add slow building suspense as the play gets farther along and anger between characters grows stronger. The two couples seem to be similar when they first interact, but are eventually things start to get heated and the talk of Islam brings out personalities and opinions that would possibly have never been revealed. Even to the surprise of their own partners, the couples disagree with one another.
1. Describe the stasis in the play: where, when, who, what, etc. in a paragraph.
Unlike all the other plays we have read, this is the first to go intensely in depth about the look and staging of the play. The playwright's vision of how the set is presented and arranged. It starts out with a couple, Amir and Emily, who live in rather nice New York apartment. Emily is painting Amir, who is a bit uncomfortable.
2. What is the intrusion?
The intrusion, in my opinion, is when Amir explains to Abe his backstory of his mom not allowing him to date a Jewish girl and him spitting in her face. This is the moment that we get a better idea of Amir’s viewpoints and how they've come to be.
3. What is the unique factor?
Something that stands out, and is essentially what Amir faces in terms of himself (Me Against Myself) is the fact that he is not getting equal treatment at his job because of his Muslim background. For years he has been trying to cover it up, even to the extent of changing his name. Now, everything, all in one day, comes back and hits him with cruel reality.
4. What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play?
What will happen to the relationship between Amir and Emily? Is there a possibility Amir could get fired from his job?
5. Provide an illustration of the two kinds of exposition that the play has in it.
information known to all or most of the characters: Abe’s name change, the class status of Emily and Amir, the drastically different jobs of Emily and Amir
Information known only to one character: Amir’s attitudes towards Islam in the beginning are to just push them aside (something not everyone knows because he has been trying to cover up his opinions for so long), the affair (only revealed later), Isaac says Amir is an alcoholic (even though Emily denies it, it is a good suggest to a possible truth only later revealed)
6. Identify the most theatrical moment in the play and of what importance it seems to be.
When Amir reacts to Emily saying she cheated on him. Everything has been going down hill all day for Amir and he finally snaps by slapping Emily so many times she falls and starts to bleed. Several things have been revealed in only a few lines: Jory is taking the position Amir wanted, Issac and Emily had an affair, helping Abe cost Amir the job, and Mort is retiring. There's also a lot of political and ideological arguments being thrown back and forth, only further dividing them. Them being drunk doesn't help either. Something was bound to happen.
7. List some of the themes of the play.
Discrimination (especially when it comes to discrimination in the workplace)
Freedom of Speech: Amir has the right, as a citizen of the United States, to go to the court Abe wants him to go to. However, even though he shouldn’t be in the wrong, his still has to deal with consequences through his work. In a recent Supreme Court case, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch, the US established that discrimination in the workplace by not being allowed to wear a hijab was not allowed (2015). However, just because this is de jure (by law) does not mean it is de facto (by fact). When the Jim Crow laws and Black Codes at polling booths were outlawed, that didn’t mean things were fixed. It still went on and white people found loopholes to the system. I think this is what the playwright is trying to express: there’s still discrimination and it can be negatively life changing to a person and their family.
Xenophobia and Islamophobia: the irrational distrust of those who come from another country and the prejudice against Islam and/or Muslims
8. What does the chief character want and what are some obstacles that stand in the way of his getting what he wants?
The chief character, Amir, wants nothing more than to just do his job and avoid any possibilities of inequality that he could very easily face if he does not work hard enough to cover things up and repress his opinions and emotions. Another obstacle is his relationship and facing himself in several different aspects. His emotions do change throughout the play. For example, after separating, Amir tells Emily that he wants her back. Of course, at this point, he must deal with his actions.
9. Describe some possible images in the play and how does the title help us understand the play.
The painting and the socioeconomic status through which their apartment places them are possibly the most obvious images. Some other images could be what Abe wears (skull cap), the idea of a name on a birth certificate and the meaning it holds behind it. All of these images represent a deeper meaning found within the text and its themes.
10. Briefly define the family relationships that are examined in the play.
Sort of like Who Cried Virginia Woolf, there's two central couples, an affair, and the play only setting being in an apartment. In Disgraced, their are obvious tensions in Emily and Amir’s marriage, which add slow building suspense as the play gets farther along and anger between characters grows stronger. The two couples seem to be similar when they first interact, but are eventually things start to get heated and the talk of Islam brings out personalities and opinions that would possibly have never been revealed. Even to the surprise of their own partners, the couples disagree with one another.